Newcomers ready to campaign for Spokane school board as three incumbents decline to seek re-election
Three incumbents declined to file for re-election to the Spokane Public Schools board of directors this week, setting the stage for newcomers to help tackle public education policy and budgeting.
Incumbents Sue Chapin and Brian Newberry did not file for re-election Friday, ending a week of speculation. Last week, board member Deana Brower announced that she wouldn’t seek re-election to a six-year term at Position 2.
All three races drew at least three candidates, meaning that the seats won’t be decided until November.
In Spokane, three candidates will contest Position 1. Nikki Lockwood filed on Tuesday, and was joined later in the week by Brian Trimble and Katey Treloar.
Trimble, who owns an early learning center on the South Hill, said he hopes to “help make decisions that can impact our community at large and educate children.”
Educated at Eastern Washington University, Trimble has a master’s degree in curriculum design and has taught at several schools throughout the district, including Hamblen, Sheridan and Holmes elementary schools and Sacajawea and Glover middle schools.
Treloar has a background in education and taught for seven years at Hutton and Hamblen elementary schools. She worked with the Bite 2 Go nonprofit program, which provides weekend bags of food for children.
“I was inspired by the hard work that they were doing,” Treloar said of the current board.
In the race for Brower’s seat, Jenny Slagle and Kelli MacFarlane were joined on Thursday by Luc Jasmin III, who owns the Parkview Early Learning Center in north Spokane.
Jasmin, who has a degree in elementary education from Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, said that “as a person of color, I hope to bring a certain experience to the table.”
Jasmin has worked as a mentor at Glover Middle School.
“I felt the time was right to run,” she said.
Newberry’s Position 4 seat, which is for two years, drew four candidates. Erin Georgen and Eric Cultum filed early in the week; they were joined in the last two days by Bill Baxley and Kevin Morrison.
Baxley is a longtime educator in Washington, California and South Africa. He retired in 2015 and returned to Spokane.
“I think I could be a voice for certain issues,” said Baxley, who spent much of his career working in alternative schools. “Also, I hear a lot of people complaining about schools, but I never see their names on the ballot.”
Morrison, who filed on Friday, has served the district in several capacities, currently as the Interim Director of Safety, Risk Management and Transportation. That position ends June 30.
He retired last summer after 16 years with the district, including five years as director of communications and public relations. Morrison also worked in capital projects.
“I’ve had a lot of encouragement from people in the community and from the staff and former and current board members,” Morrison said of his decision to run. “And I think we need continuity.”
In the Central Valley School District, retired teacher John Myers will challenge incumbent Cindy McMullen.
“I think the CV school district is a great place, and I’d just like to be a part of that, serving the community,” said Myers, a teacher for 33 years.
After 10 years as a special education teacher in Shelton, Washington, Myers worked at Liberty (Spangle) before becoming an assistant principal in the Lakeland School District in Rathdrum, Idaho.
For four years he was principal at Lakeland High School.
Spokane
(i) denotes incumbent
Position 1 – Nikki Lockwood, Katey Treloar, Brian Trimble
Position 2 – Luc Jasmin III, Kelli McFarlane, Jenny Slagle
Position 4 – Bill Baxley, Eric Cultum, Erin Georgen, Kevin Morrison
Mead
District 2 – Denny Denholm (i)
District 3 – John Hatcher, Bob Olson (i)
District 4 – Michael Cannon, Dorcas Wylder (i)
Central Valley
District 1 – Cindy McMullen (i), John Myers
District 3 – Susan Dolan, Debra Long (i)
District 4 – Keith Clark (i)
Great Northern
Position 1 – Ken Pegg (i)
Position 2 – Amy Shulund (i)
Position 3 – Jill Ericson, John Pegg (i)
Nine Mile Falls
Position 1 – Mac Mikkelsen (i)
Position 2 – Kirsten Foose, Mary McAdam, Eric Olsen
Position 3 – Bill McBride (i)
Medical Lake
District 2 – Rod Von Lehe (i)
District 3 – Felicia Jensen (i), Laura Parsons
District 4 – Ron Cooper (i)
Freeman
District 1 – Bill Morphy (i)
District 5 – Angela Keebler (i)
Cheney
District 3 – Henry Browne Jr. (i), James Weathers
District 4 – Stacy Nicol (i)
District 5 – Bill Johns, Mitch Swenson (i)
East Valley
District 2 – Laura Gates (i)
Liberty
District 1 – Kynda Browning (i)
West Valley
District 3 – Bob Wentworth (i)
District 4 – Adam Mortensen (i)
Reardan-Edwall
Position 2 – Roger Peterson (i)
Position 4 – Jeffrey Anderson (i)
Position 5 – Karmalee LeSieur, Ian Wagner (i)
Deer Park
District 4 – Carri Breckner (i)
At large – Eric Keller (i)
Riverside
District 2 – Scott Ellsworth (i)
District 3 – Sandra Huggins (i), Joslyn James
District 4 – Robert Carroll (i)